Stuffed Egg plant (Brinjal)

This is another interesting way of eating eggplant. There are several varieties of brinjal that you may find in the market. We will be using the small round ones for this dish. By stuffing the brinjal with a spicy mix almost like a pico de gallo/salsa fresca, but a little more spicy, It turns into a tasty delight :)

                     

 Western Variety of eggplant to be used>

Ingredients:

• 10 small sized eggplants cut  like a flower (as in pic)

For stuffing:

• 3 tomatoes - diced finely
• 2 big onions - diced finely
• 10 garlic pods - chopped
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 Tsp of chilli powder
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp of amchur (dry mango) powder 
• 1 tsp of garam masala powder
• 2 tsp of oil
• 1 tsp of ghee

Procedure:

• Apply a little salt and turmeric on the brinjals like marination and fry them well. Keep these fried brinjals aside for the stuffing later, Let them cool down as you may burn your hands while stuffing them while they are still hot.
• Pour oil into a pan and heat it up. Then add the onions and fry until golden brown.
• Then add the chopped garlic, followed by tomatoes & cook for around 5 minutes.
• Then add all the spices one by one. Remember to cook in medium flame after you add the spices.
• Once you see the oil separating from the spicy stuffing then add salt according to your taste. 
• I have added 1 tsp of sugar too, so that it is balanced and not too spicy.
• Stir it well. Lastly add garam masala and ghee and give it a nice stir.

            <The stuffing

• Let the stuffing that we just made, cool down.
• Then fill all the brinjals  by stuffing the mixture inside the slit that you made. Put in a lot of stuffing, As it tastes even better.
• If there is extra stuffing left over just use it around the brinjals as it is and serve by sprinkling some coriander/ parsley leaves on the top for extra crunch. 

~Enjoy~

Toor Dal (Pigeon Pea Lentil Soup)

What is dal? Wikipedia: Indian Lentil Soup (for my friends outside India)

This is a basic dal (lentil soup) cooked in every household of India. Mainly used for making a dish called Sambar in Southern India,  I have cooked this lentil in Gujarati way which is different from sambar. 

This dal (soup) is made from toor dal ( Pigeon pea- Split toor lentil ).

Ingredients:

• 150 grams of Toor dal 
• 2 Onions
• 1 big tomato
• 5-6 cloves of garlic 
• 1 Tsp of mustard seeds
• Curry leaves 
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 1 Tsp of Sugar
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• Salt according to your taste
• 2 tsp of sunflower oilv
• 1 tsp of ghee (to be given from top)
• Green (or) red dry chilly -3-4

Procedure:

• First soak the lentil in bowl of water for half an hour.
• Now add 2 tsp of oil in pressure cooker add add the mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering add d pinch go hing( asafoetida) , green chilli and curry leaves.fry it for 1 min .Now add the onions, and garlic

                   

•  After 1 min add the tomato pieces along with turmeric powder.

• Mix all properly and and add the soaked dal 

• Add salt and sugar and mix evenly.
• Now add 1 litre of water, stir.
• Close the pressure cooker and wait for 3 whistles.
• Switch off the gas and let it cool.
• Open the cooker, mix properly and add a spoon of ghee from the top. 

  Garnish with coriander leaves (optional)

Those who want their dal (lentil soup) to be spicy can take a separate frying pan & add a spoonful of ghee (clarified butter) into it, and give tarka (tempering of spices) with 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 1 tsp of chilli powder and then spread the tempered spices (tarka) on top of the lentil soup and stir.

Cauliflower & Potato Stir fry

As an accompaniment with dal, I made this dry potato and cauliflower curry.

• Cut the potatoes and cauliflower into small pieces.
• Take a frying pan & add 1 tsp of cumin seeds & 1/2 tsp of asafoetida in 2 tsp of oil.
• After a minute add the chopped veggies and cook in a low flame
• Just add some salt and 3 tsp of homemade pepper powder. 
• To enhance the taste add a tsp of sugar. Then place the lid on the pan. It takes around half an hour to cook
• If required you can sprinkle some water from the top if you feel the vegetables are not releasing enough water.
• Open the lid, add some chopped coriander leaves from top along with a dash of lemon juice & Toss it well 

Serve hot with rice and dal ! ~Enjoy~

Note: If you feel the vegetables are not getting boiled in the stipulated time which I gave above, please add half cup of water and boil beforehand but make sure the veggies don't get smashed in the process.

Lime pickle

Lemon pickle is the best side accompaniment during summer. Lime is rich in Vitamin C, Which has many health benefits like boosting our body's immune system, skin anti wrinkling, cure for common cold, eye diseases and more. Lemons grow beautifully in ample on our trees during summer. The lemon tree in my backyard is full of limes, So I thought of making a pickle out of all of them.

               

Recipe:

Lemons (Green/Yellow Lime) -500 grams i.e. 1/2 Kg

Salt - 100 gms

1 pinch of Turmeric
Cut each lemon into 8 pieces and mix well with salt and turmeric and leave it out it in hot sun for 20 days in a closed glass jar.

Note:
(1) You will Notice that the lemons have reduced in size considerably and have become softer and mushy as the pickle will have some fluid in it because the lemon juices are released from the lemons.

(2) If you don't like spices, you can eat the pickle this way itself (non-spicy tangy taste). But I like my pickle to be a little spicy, as it tastes even better.


So I have dry roasted the following spices for adding into the pickle:

-1 tsp of cumin seeds
-1 tsp of carom seeds (ajwain)
-Cinnamon - 2 long sticks
-1tsp of cumin seeds
-1tsp of fenugreek seeds
-10-12 cloves
-5-6 dry red chillies (or chilli flakes)
-1 tsp of black pepper

After dry roasting these spices, grind them well in a mixer grinder. 

Then you have to mix it with the lemon pickle you prepared above ( after 20 days when it has soaked up a good amount of sun ). While mixing do not forget to add 2 tablespoons of black salt in it along with the spices 

This is how it looks after adding the spices into the pickle.

        The pickle is ready! You can keep it for almost an year.

If you feel the pickle is getting slightly dry, squeeze more lemon juice and add the juice from top and shake the jar ( you can add the juice of 2-3 medium sized lemons).

You will notice the the pickle gets tastier with the passage of time!! :D

~Enjoy~

Eggplant in Poppy Seed Paste

This is a delicacy for Bengalis & Various dishes using poppy seed paste is always welcomed in my family. It tastes delicious.  

It is also called "Begun Postho" in Bengali. Here is my EGGPLANT( BRINJAL ) IN POPPY SEED PASTE!

For this dish you will need long/slender eggplants (brinjal) which are very fresh otherwise there will be too many seeds in them.<-Asian long brinjal

Ingredients:

• 9-10 long, thin, fresh brinjals (cut into half, right in the middle)
• Poppy seeds 2 1/2 tablespoon
• White mustard seed - 1Tbsp
• Peanuts - 1 Tsp
• Green chilly- 6-7 
• 1 tomato cut into small pieces
• 1 onion cut into pieces. 
• 5-6 pods of garlic finely chopped
• 1 tsp of kalonji (nigella sativa seeds)
• Coriander leaves to garnish
• Oil for cooking
• 2 tsp of turmeric powder 
• 1 Tsp of sugar
• 1 Tsp of garam masala 

Procedure:

• First cut the brinjals into half and coat these with salt and turmeric powder. Then shallow fry these and keep it aside.

• Make a fine paste out of poppy seeds, green chillies, white mustard and peanuts.
• Put 2 Tsp of oil in the pan. When it's hot add 1 tsp of kalonji / kalajeera .Cook for one minute then add the onion and garlic pieces and Fry them till brown.
• At this point add the tomato, 1 tsp of turmeric powder and salt.
• Once the oil comes to the top, add the poppy mixture which you prepared before.

• Cook for 2 minutes and add a cup of water.
• Let it come to the boiling point then add the fried brinjals.

• Don't cook for long then the brinjals will get smashed and mix into the gravy.
• The gravy shouldn't be runny (liquid) nor too thick. Adjust salt and sugar according to your taste. Reduce the gravy and make it slightly thickened.

Sprinkle some coriander leaves on top and serve.

Best enjoyed with Hot rice

ENJOY!

Lemon chicken

Hi friends. The temperature is continuing to soar outside. To beat the heat you must drink a lot of fluids and try using a lot of fresh lemon juice in your diet to keep the body hydrated. 

So here is my 'LEMON CHICKEN" Recipe for summer.

This dish is also called "Gondhoraj Lebu Chicken" 

INGREDIENTS:

• 500 gms of chicken breast (cut into pieces)
• Lime juice:3 Tbsp
• Onion paste:1 Tbsp
• Garlic paste:1Tbsp
• Ginger paste:1tsp 
• Curd: 2 Tbsp
• Green chilly paste:1 Tbsp
• Green chilly: 2-3 slit into two pieces
• Coriander powder: 1Tbsp
• Small cardamom: 4
• Lemon peel: 1 tsp 
• Lemon leaves: 7
• 1 tsp of oil for marination
• 2 Tbsp of oil for cooking
• Salt and sugar according to your taste

Those who wants it more spicy can add more chillies as per need.

PROCEDURE:

• Marinate the chicken with Ginger, garlic, onion, chilly paste (mentioned above), 3-4 lemon leaves and lemon juice, Add 1 tsp of oil for binding and salt according to your taste, add lemon peel for achieving a strong lemon flavor (but not much otherwise it will become bitter) Marinate for 2-5 hours
• Note: Before cooking please remove the the lemon leaves, as they will become bitter during cooking.
•  Now heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the cardamom into the oil.
• After 2 minutes add the marinated chicken and cover the pan and cook in medium flame.
• When the chicken starts releasing water then add the yogurt (hung curd), salt and 1 tsp of sugar to it.
• Place the lid and cover the pan and let the chicken cook thoroughly.
• When the chicken has boiled thoroughly and it has started becoming dry, you can add 2-3 fresh green lemon leaves and the slit green chillies to the dish. 
• Cook for 3-5 mins and serve hot.

Can be served with fried rice / white rice

PS: For Bengalis residing at Kolkata and others who can get "gondhoraj lebu" (a special type of lemon that's bigger in size and has a strong fragrance) please do use that instead of the small lime.

             

                                  Gondhoraj lemon (India)

Sweet & Spicy Green Mango Juice (Aam Panna)

This Drink is perfect for summer! :D When the temperature is rising up & your energy is draining away and you feel dehydrated this refreshes you up with it's tangy taste & restores your body salt content too as it contains salt and herbs! It's very easy to make & since mangoes are in season, makes it even more simpler.

These are the spices that I have used:

Cumin seeds (2 tsp), pepper pods (1 tsp) , coriander seeds (1 tsp) and dry red chilly (5 pieces). Dry roast them and then grind them well & keep it aside.

PROCEDURE:

Take 4 large raw mangoes and remove their skin  and boil them all in pressure cooker in 1.5 litres of water and strain them.
Remove the seeds from the mangoes once its cool. 
Then mash the mangoes in the same water until you get a smooth texture.
Add 250 grams of Sugar & 4 spoons of Black salt to this pulp and mix thoroughly. Bring it to boil and keep stirring continuously so that the sugar is mixed well.
If you want you can add 500ml of water to make the pulp thinner in consistency.
Remove it from the stove and let it cool, Add the spice-mix which we made in the first step into the pulp.

This is the pulp.

Add water before drinking.

 

~ENJOY~  MANGO JUICE !

Pepper Chicken

Pepper Chicken is loved by my family. In this intense summer heat we should avoid packing lunch boxes with cooked or raw tomatoes as they might get spoiled and spoil the entire food. But this is a very good option and it's yummy too, kids love this!  Even while  traveling you can carry this chicken dish and eat them with Parathas or bread :)
 

INGREDIENTS:

• Boneless chicken - 500 gm (cut into bite size pieces)
• Lemon - 1
• Ground pepper pods -1Tsp for marination ,+3 teaspoon for preparation
• Mustard oil - 1 Tbsp of mustard oil for marination purpose
• Garlic Paste - 2Tsp for marination
• 4 tsp of white oil
• Poppy seeds- 1 Tablespoon
• Onions -2 (cut into small pieces)
• Tomatoes- 2 (cut into small pieces)
• Green-chilly Paste-5-6
• Curry leaves- 10-12 leaves
• Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 1 Tbsp

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Marinate 500 gm of boneless chicken (cut into bite size pieces) with lemon juice, salt, 1Tsp of pepper powder. garlic paste and mustard oil. Preferably keep it marinated in the refrigerator overnight otherwise at least for 6-7 hours.

 

Mustard oil is used for good binding. In the absence of  this oil you can use butter also.

Step 2: 

             >Take 3 - 4 tsp of white oil in a frying pan and fry the curry leaves and the cinnamon stick.

             >Then add the poppy seeds and fry it for a while.

             >Now fry the cut onions till golden brown.

             >Then add 1 Tsp of the chilly paste ( you can use chilly sauce instead too )

Step 3:

> Now add 1 Tsp of Ginger - garlic paste & Fry till its raw smell goes away. It takes around 10     minutes on medium flame.

>At this point add the tomato pieces and fry them till they get soft and properly cooked.

Step 4: 

When you see that oil is separating at the sides of the pan. Only then add the marinated chicken. 

            

NOTE: Those who do not like their curry leaves to be crispy can add the leaves now instead of frying them in the beginning along with the cinnamon.

          

Do not add any water. Cook in medium flame till the chicken is completely cooked and all the water evaporates. It takes around 20 -25 minutes to get dry.

                    

Last  Step: Switch off the stove and add 3 tsp of pepper powder and mix it properly. 

YOUR PEPPER CHICKEN IS  READY !!!

Orange & Honey Chicken

Hi friends its been a long time since I posted. Oranges are a winter fruit in most countries, It has such a unique flavor of it's own which gives the anything an amazing flavor. 

I opened my refrigerator and saw a full packet of oranges lying in my crisper,So I thought of making something tangy and orangey & came up with this recipe. If you don't know what to do with those extra pack of oranges...here it is:

ORANGE & HONEY CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

• 500gms of boneless chicken cut into pieces
• 2 cups of Orange juice
• 2 Tsp of green chilly paste
• 4 Tbsp of maida (refined-All purpose flour)
• 1 tsp of rice flour
• 1 Tbsp of sugar 
• Salt according to your taste

 

For marinating the chicken you require:-

• 1 Tbsp of soya sauce
• 1 Tbsp of ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp of garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp of Honey
• 1 tsp of oil 
• 1 tsp of chilli flakes 
• 2 tsp of salt

MARINATE chicken for half an hour

                     

PROCEDURE:-

Add 2 Tbsp of maida and 1 tsp of rice dust in the marinated chicken and fry these in High flame till golden brown & keep it aside.

Take a another wok (or) pan and boil 2 cups of orange juice (which we squeezed from the oranges)  2 tbsp all purpose flour (or) cornflour and the green chilly paste. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt.

Boil these in medium heat till the bubbles appear.

Keep stirring 

This is how it will look while boiling & after if starts boiling you add the fried chicken and toss it nicely.

For a nice look I have glazed the dish with little honey। If you want you can also sprinkle sesame seeds from top😄

~TADA!  IT IS READY !~

Hope you all try it out & let me know if you like it! :)